


The Uncanny Valley

by JetpackingPenguin



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Jessica Queller can fight me, Not Really Character Death, SuperCorp, The only explanation for this mess in canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-05-07 16:31:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14675028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JetpackingPenguin/pseuds/JetpackingPenguin
Summary: Reign breaks out of containment and secrets are revealed. Supercorp endgame and my answer to canon.





	The Uncanny Valley

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks again to @srobbwriter_

Kara paced back and forth in front of Reign’s prison. Lena’s Kryptonite injections and cuffs, as well as the force field were doing their jobs. Lena did what the DEO failed to do - Contain Reign.

Kara resumed her pacing, remembering her words to Lena just yesterday. _“I owe you an apology for being so hard on you.”_

But Lena hadn’t forgiven her. _“Supergirl went behind my back and used my personal relationships against me. That's something my mother would do.”_

A gut punch. Being compared to Lillian? The woman who made Lena doubt herself? Made her believe she would never be as good as Lex? And Supergirl reminded Lena of Lillian? _Don’t think about it._

“Any idea when she’ll wake up?” She asked Lena.

Kara edged back from Mon-El. His sad face and hangdog expression were pinging off something in her mind, but she didn’t have time for this. She needed to focus on Reign. Focus on repairing her fractured relationship with Lena. She didn’t have time or the emotional labor to deal with her married ex-boyfriend.

“I’m not sure,” Lena said, short. “She’s in Reign’s form, so I should be able to identify the enzyme causing her transformation.”

Kara nodded, swallowing heavily. Mon-El tried to make eye contact, but she avoided him.

Kara wasn’t sure what happened. One moment Lena was going over genetic sequences and doing her best to fix Sam. The next, Reign was awake.

Reign ripped the Kryptonite IV out of her chest, crushing the device in her fist. The  pellets beneath her skin glowed, shining brightly and sending green poison through her veins, before they seemingly disappeared.

Reign opened her mouth. Kara stretched her cape in front of Lena as she began to scream.

The vibrations sent the force field crashing, releasing Reign from her cage while Kara desperately tried to shield Lena from the shockwaves.

“Get to safety,” Kara ordered, flying over to engage Reign.

Mon-El flipped his cape, only for Reign to punch him in the face and send him through a desk.

She grappled with Reign, but she was too strong. Reign grabbed her in a stranglehold. Kara sent her elbow into Reign’s stomach, but it was like hitting a wall of concrete.

Reign tossed her aside like a rag doll. Kara made to stand up, but a booted foot came down heavily on her back.

And then the foot was gone. Nails in her blood, scalding flames down her skin. Kryptonite.

She turned her head. Lena had sprayed Reign with something- Kryptonite- but whatever effect it had before was gone now. Reign’s heat vision sent it flying from Lena’s hand.

Reign grabbed Lena, lifting her up by the neck. Kara was thrown back to the shadow realm, to when she strangled Lena before.

Lena’s hands clawed at Reign, her face turning purple as her feet kicked out striking ineffectively at Reign.

Reign looked at Kara, smirking. “You lose Supergirl.”

“No!” Kara screamed.

Her wrist twisted.

With a sickening crack, Lena’s body went limp.

Silence. No steady thump of her heart.

Her sight went red and the heat building behind her eyes became unbearable. Weak heat vision hit Reign, who didn’t seem affected in the slightest.

But even as her heat vision failed, Reign seemed to freeze, fighting with herself. The worldkiller grasped her head and shouted. With a loud crash, Reign flew through the ceiling and escaped.

“No. No, no, no, Lena!”

Kara rushed to her side. Her sight obscured by tears. _Not Lena._

With shaking hands, Kara reached down and picked Lena’s head up. Her eyes, once so beautiful and green, were dull, lifeless, staring at the ceiling. A trickle of blood ran out of her mouth. Kara wiped it away and closed Lena’s eyes. _There. Now she could be asleep._

Kara’s shoulders shook as everything deadened around her. Her heart, her soul, it _hurt_. Great, painful sobs ripped out of her.

A heavy hand came down on her shoulder and Kara twisted away, swinging her arm out to push Mon-El away. She didn’t want him. She wanted Lena and Lena was…

Kara wasn’t sure how long she sat there, before a much softer, smaller body pulled up alongside her.

“Kara. Kara, let me see.”

_Alex._

Kara relaxed her hold on Lena. Alex gently pressed both fingers to Lena’s neck. There was no point. She was dead. Kara heard the moment her heart stopped beating. Heard the moment Reign snapped her neck beneath her powerful hand.

Kara gently, oh so gently, set Lena on the ground, to allow Alex to do what needed to be done. She stood to the side, not feeling anything. Numb to the world around her.  The place Lena had occupied in her heart was empty.. In its place, a bleeding void.

She needed to find Reign. Rage pulsed beneath her skin, bubbling up like lava from a dormant volcano. She wanted to kill Reign. It wasn’t right. Lena dead while Reign survived. _But Sam._

_You owe Lena and Sam._

They’d seperate the two and Kara would _destroy_ Reign.

“Kara.” Alex’s voice, sharp and alarmed reached through her ruminations. Kara sped to her side. “What?”

She saw it. Where Reign had snapped Lena’s neck were - wires?

Kara dropped to her knees and got closer. _What?_

Alex reached into the broken skin - _Don’t,_ Kara wanted to yell, _Don’t hurt her_ \- and pulled another wire loose.

“What the hell?” Alex muttered to herself. She dipped her fingers into Lena’s blood, holding them up and _sniffing_.

“This isn’t blood.”

“What - what do you mean it isn’t blood? Lena is _dead-_ ” Kara’s voice cracked. The devastation building again.

“This isn’t Lena.”

With horror, Kara watched as Alex pulled hard at the skin around Lena’s neck. Kara screamed, the sound dying in her throat at the sight in front of her.

Wires. Circuitry.

Kara’s head swam and her vision blurred around the edges.

“This isn’t Lena. It’s an android.”

 

\----

 

Kara sat in the corner of the DEO, in a conference room away from everyone, where she could be Kara. Her knees up to her chin and her hands over her face.

 _An android. Was Lena always a- a robot? What, how-_ Questions zipped through her head, assaulting her brain while her heart withered in her chest.

“Kara.”

Alex was beside her. Kara lowered her hands to look at Alex. Her face was pale, save two bright pink spots above her cheekbones.

“You need to see this.”

She held out her hand and Kara took it, feeling like a child being led to a pod.

A sheet covered Lena- the android’s- body. Kara looked away from the medbay, down the stairs to the main room.

Winn typed feverishly into his computer. A chip was plugged into the computer.

Lines of code, _Lena would be able to read it_ , flashed over the monitor.

“What?”

“This tech is incredible-”

“Winn.” Alex’s voice was sharp and warning.

“Right. That android wasn’t Lena.”

Kara’s patience was at its end. _Of course_ it wasn’t Lena. It was an _android_.  “What do you mean?”

“Right! Right.” Winn picked up the chip. “This was located at the base of her skull. It’s an AI. A perfect computer simulation of Lena's personality.”

All of a sudden sound returned to the world, the lines sharpened, the color bleeding back. “When?”

Questions, so many questions. How long was this imposter present? Where was the real Lena?

“The data is timestamped a few months ago. Back when Edge-”

_Edge’s assassination attempt. Lillian._

Kara’s eyes lit up dangerously, and she slammed them shut before she hurt anyone. Her control was gone with the absolute anger seething through her. She fought for every inch of her hard won control. Lena needed her- _if..._

“Is she alive?”

“We don’t know,” Alex’s voice was low. Reminiscent of nights where the shadow of Krypton choked the life out of her. Kara set her hand down on the counter.

“This is Cadmus. Lillian.”

Lillian, who was still in jail.

“We’re bringing her in, Kara-” Alex’s voice took on a warning note, already seeing where Kara’s mind was going.

Powdered concrete fluttered to the floor, disintegrating beneath her hands. With effort Kara released her hold.

Alex desperately tried to reassure her. “Lillian wouldn’t kill Lena.” Kara wasn’t sure of that. She opened her mouth to say just that. “Lena’s too valuable to her alive.” Kara exhaled through her nose. Alex was right. Lillian would love to use all of Lena’s genius for her own sick ends. Kara _needed_ to believe that.

”We’re reverse engineering the chip. We’ll find her,” Alex reassured.

Kara backed away from the table, stalking down the hall where the training room and reinforced blocks of concrete waited for her fists.

“Kara! Kara, wait.”

Kara spun, biting down so she didn’t scream or cry. Mon-El, for all his fault didn’t deserve her rage over Lillian. Control. She tenuously clung to her control with her fingertips.

“What?” she snapped.

For a moment, she thought Mon-El was going to hug her. Kara took a step back, glaring at him. _He’s married._ She didn’t have time to coddle him or his feelings. She needed to destroy something before she broke.

“Are you okay?”

The anger erupted.

“Am I _okay_ ? My _best friend_ was replaced by a _robot_ and I didn’t realize it! She’s been held prisoner or worse for months and I didn’t know! How do you think I’m feeling?”

She needed to get away from Mon-El, who always brought out the _worst_ in her. “Leave me alone.”

She turned away, unable and unwilling to look at his exaggeratedly hurt expression. Lena needed her and Kara wasn’t going to let anyone get in her way.

 

\----

 

J’onn and Alex blocked the interrogation room.

“I need to talk to Lillian.”

“Kara, you’re too emotional-”

“I need to find her!”

“Lena’s my friend too. Let me do this.”

_She doesn’t mean the same to you. Not like me!_

“Kara, let me handle Lillian. You should get James.”

 _James. She completely forgot about James. Wait, was Lena even with James or was that cyborg Lena?_ The space behind her eyes was pounding in rhythm with her heartbeat.

“James needs to know he’s been dating a copy.”

 

\----

 

Kara could hardly recall her conversation with James. She knew she told him about Lena. But beyond that, she remembered nothing. Her duty done, she returned to the DEO, not even leaving CatCo’s balcony during their conversation.

Running through Kara’s head were all the signs she should have seen. All the clues that something was wrong with Lena. All of them which she ignored, assuming it was the result of her new relationship, and then her stress at work.

What kind of best friend was she? Her best friend was replaced by a _cyborg_ and Kara was none the wiser. How long would this have gone on? Would years have gone by, all the while Lena was locked up, a prisoner? And Kara would be living her life, ignorant and blind to the truth. Rao, she was a fool.

She landed heavily, gracelessly, in the DEO, where Alex rushed to meet her.

“J’onn got Lena’s location from Lillian’s mind.”

Finally, some good news. “ Great! Let’s go!” Kara prepared to take back off, stopping at the hand on her cape.

“We need to prepare a strike team.”

“Lena needs us now!”

“This is Cadmus’ main base. Hank Henshaw is there. And they’ll undoubtedly have Kryptonite. No one knows we’ve got Lillian or that we know about Lena. We need to make a plan.” Alex’s face twitched and her heart subtly sped up. “Maybe you should stay behind.”

“What?” Kara whispered, dangerously.

“With Kryptonite there, we can send Mon-El.”

“Mon-El is still vulnerable to lead! They can _shoot him_.”

“You’re too emotional, Kara. You aren’t thinking clearly. We need to prepare for the worst. Lena’s been in captivity for months.”

Kara’s sight turned red. She knew what Alex was implying, the multiple layers of what could be wrong with Lena, in body or soul. Her voice shook with a mixture of emotions she didn’t want to think about.

“I _need_ to be there.”

Whatever happened to Lena was her fault. She promised her- _I will always protect you_ \- and she _failed_. She needed to face the consequences of her own stupidity. Her own inability to see the meaning behind Lena’s change in behavior the last few months.

“If you go- if-” Alex began, “J’onn takes lead. No matter what happens, you can’t let your feelings take control. Lena needs you. Don’t let your anger overwhelm you.”

 

\----

 

“Lena!”

Cadmus’ base was in shambles, hellfire in the form of Supergirl and a Martian Manhunter descending upon them. Each punch landed just harder than normal, as Supergirl sped through the base. The lead lined walls blocking Lena from her senses.

“Lena!” Kara yelled, moving to another room.

She kicked down a heavy metal door, sending it crashing into the opposite wall. She entered a dark room, isolated from the rest of the base. With the absence of the door, Kara heard it. A distinct thumping. A thumping she never thought she’d hear again.

“Lena!”

Kara supersped to where a forcefield partitioned what looked like someone’s bedroom from the rest of the sterile room. There, laying on a bed, looking as pale and unkempt as Kara had ever seen her- was Lena Luthor.

She ripped out the controls for the force field control panel, causing the shield to flicker out. She crossed over to Lena’s side.

A bruise blossomed over Lena’s right eye. Her heart sounded slow, exhaustion, she prayed to Rao, seeing the heavy bags under her eyes. A quick scan of Kara’s x-ray vision revealed no broken bones, no internal damage.

Lena was alive.

Lena opened her eyes and Kara was hit with a swell of emotion that brought her to her knees.

“Lena,” she cried.

“Supergirl, I knew you’d come.” Lena’s voice was weak. In that moment Kara wanted to _die_. She gathered the woman in her arms.

“What’s wrong? What did they do?”

“Sedative,” Lena slurred. “-m ‘kay.” The younger woman started to squirm, like she was trying to get to her feet. Typical Lena. Kara wanted to laugh and cry. She bent down and scooped her up in her arms.

“I’ve got you, Lena. You’re safe.”

She held Lena close to her chest, cradling her, and let the steady thump of Lena’s heart calm her own racing one. Lena’s hand reached up and rested softly her family crest. El Mayarah. Stronger together.

 

\----

 

Kara paced back and forth in front of the medical bay, a bouquet of flowers- plumerias- in hand, the stems crushed beneath her too tight grip. The curtains were drawn across the windows, protecting Lena from prying eyes. And Kara’s, as she refused to use her x-ray vision to see into the room.

She was back in her civvies. Lena needed a friend. Her best friend. And Kara needed to apologize.

Kara straightened up, fiddling with her glasses anxiously as Alex and J’onn exited the room.

J’onn gave her a reassuring smile. A weight went off her back. If J’onn looked into her mind and was trying to reassure Kara, surely she wasn’t that bad off? Right?

Kara watched him go before turning to Alex. “How is she?”

“Healthy. More Vitamin D deficient than normal, but 100% Lena.”

Kara took off her glasses, which were fogging up from repressed tears. She made a show of cleaning them on her shirt.

“She’ll want to see you.” Alex smiled, encouragingly.

Kara’s lower lip shook, she bit it nervously, desperate to stop it’s quivering. “I didn’t realize it wasn’t her. I don’t deserve to see her.”

“Hey.” Alex set both hands on Kara’s shoulders. “No one knew. Not even James, and he was _dating_ her. It’s not your fault.”

“But _I_ should have known.” James didn’t know Lena half as well as Kara did. James never would. But Kara knew Lena. Knew the small scar beside her eyebrow, knew the subtle shifting of her eyes from green to grey, and the wide smile she saved just for Kara.

Alex softened further. She wrapped Kara in her arms, and Kara accepted the comfort. Careful to keep the flowers un-crushed, she stuck her arm out.

“Lena loves you. Go see her.”

 

\----

 

Kara nervously entered the room, the plumerias held out in front of her like a shield. At least, Lena would like the flowers.

“Kara!”

Lena sat propped up in bed, a stack of pillows behind her. Her smile- her Kara smile- spread from ear to ear, scrunching her nose.

“Lena.” Kara hurried over to her- at a human speed- and held out the bouquet.

“Plumerias,” Lena commented, smiling.

“Pretty rare,” Kara said echoing their first conversation about them, a smile creeping up her face. “I’m sorry it’s not a room full of them.”

“I forgive you, this time,” Lena teased, trying to sound stern. Her smile gave away how happy she was.

_And why was she happy, Kara? Because she’s been in captivity for months._

Kara sat beside Lena, fumbling with her glasses as her stomach dropped, again.

“Hey.” Lena rested her hand on Kara’s. Her face was soft and understanding. Too understanding for the weight of Kara’s failure.

“I’m sorry Lena. I’m so, so sorry.”

“You couldn’t have known. My mother is smart. She was planning this for months, maybe even a year. You can’t blame yourself.”

Kara clenched her jaw. It wasn’t good enough. Kara should have known. But Lena’s absolution was a salve on an open wound. One less lash to add to her self-flagellation.

“So.” Lena raised her eyebrow.  ”My cyborg was dating James? Kara, I am gonna call you out on that. James is a nice man, but no.”

“You were dating James! Even before!” Kara defended, but she was smiling in spite of herself. Lena had a way about her of lessening the load. She didn’t have to be Supergirl 24/7, she could be Kara.

“I went on a _date_ with James. We weren’t official and I was going to break things off after I realized there wasn’t anything there. There wasn’t a spark. Surely, you saw that?”

“You seemed happy,” Kara defended, fiddling with Lena’s fingers.

Kara didn’t want to, but her time with Cyborg Lena taught her what the cost of her secret would be. Lena trying to seperate Reign from Sam- without her. The creation of Kryptonite. If she was honest, this wouldn’t have happened. In Cyborg Lena’s last moments, she’d been angry at Kara. Betrayed. And despite being an AI, she was a perfect simulation of Lena’s emotions.

“Lena, I need to tell you something.” Kara took a deep breath and detangled their fingers. “I don’t know how to say it, so I’ll just-” Kara unbuttoned her shirt, to reveal the House of El crest.

She looked up. Lena looked unsurprised. “I was hoping this was going in a very different direction,” Lena teased, softly. But her face-

“You knew.”

“I didn’t before,” Lena admitted. _Cadmus_. Kara should have been the one to tell her. Not her mother’s paramilitary terrorist organization. But Lena didn’t seem upset.

“You’re not mad?”

“I was at first,” Lena admitted. “But knowing gave me hope. I knew you would find me.”

“I didn’t know. Until you-” _died_ . Even if it was a cyborg, it was so _real_. Behind her eyes she still saw Lena’s body jerk before falling limp. The crack of her neck. The drip of her blood.

The tears pooling at her eyes leaked down.

“Oh Kara.”

Kara’s senses were engulfed by Lena. Her scent, the soft thump of her heart, and the gentle feel of her arms around her.

“I thought you were dead,” Kara cried.

“I’m not. I swear Kara, I’m fine.” Lena moved away from her, sending Kara’s heartbeat into a panic.

“Here. Here.” Lena reached down and guided Kara’s head against her chest. From underneath her ear she could hear the steady thump of her heart. She could feel it, more clearly than she could before. Kara raised her hand and set it above Lens’s breastbone where she felt the pounding heart speed up.

Kara met Lena’s gaze. Through the swimming tears, she saw Lena’s face. The urge to...Kara gave in. She leaned up and kissed her.

It was sloppy and wet and perfect,the best first kiss she’d ever had. Lena’s nose wasn’t broken- that was a positive- and she was kissing back.

Kara retreated, searching Lena’s eyes. Oh Rao, was she dating James? What if she didn’t want to kiss Kara? And Kara just threw herself at her.

Before she could overthink herself into a panic, Lena leaned down and pecked her on the lips. Soft and reassuring. Lena’s eyes were wide and liquid. Transparent with feeling.

Lena smiled and Kara returned it.

Lena would be okay. And Kara would always protect her.


End file.
